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No. 5. 




Pioneers of « « 
Soutbem Citerature 

3oOn Pendleton H^nnedy 
3obn €$ten 0ooke 

Otber Soutbern novelists 

J3^ Samuel Blbert ILinIt 
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:©arl>ce a Smttb, Brents 

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AUG 8 |*||gfejj.i^f SoHtbern BmmH^ 

V ''ij/., , -V y^y SAMUEL ALBERT LIJfK. \ 

S^'-^ of Conf;'^!^ \ 

^"'^''^•'^^'^: c_ . ;_^-^ ':::3)»fe^ has been written of "the recent move- 
ment in Southern Literature," but little has been 
said of those pioneers who wrought while litera- 
ture brought neither fame nor remuneration. With 
love for literature and love for the South, these 
■^ toiled upward in the night. They deserve more 

than a mere passing notice. As precursors of the 
** new day " they should not be forgotten by their 
own people. For some years this writer has gath- 
ered material covering the . period preceding and 
immediately svibsequent to the war, and now em- 
bodies some of the results in a series of ten book- 
lets, hoping that these may not be without value to 
those who cherish interest in the history of South- 
ern life and thought, as well as to those engaged in 
the work of education. 

The booklets v/ill be issued at intervals under 
the following titles: 

No. I. A Glance at the Field. Here a Tale; 
There a Song, 

No. 2. Paul Hamilton Hayne, Poet Laureate ol 
the South. 

No. 3. Dr, Frank O, Ticknor, the Southern Lyr- 
ic Poet; and Henry Timrod, the Unfortu- 
nate Singer. 

No. 4. William Gilmore Simms : The Novelist, 
the Poet. 

No. 5. John P. Kennedy, John Esten Cooke, and 
Other Southern Novelists. 

No. 6. Edgar Allan Poe : A Genius in Story and 
Song. 

No. 7. War Poets of the South, Singers on 
Fire, 

No. 8. Singers in Various Keys: John R, Thomp- 
son, James Barron Hope, Henry Lynden 
Flash, and Others. 

No. 9. Southern Humorists : Longstreet, Bald- 
win, Hooper, W. T, Thompson, Davy Crock- 
ett, and Others. 

No. 10. Political Writers and Historians. 

Such division has been made as will in some 

measure cover the entire iield from the earliest 

times until about 1S70, when the leading magazines 

were thrown open to Southern writers. 

A bibliography of the writers considered will be 

included in the last booklet of the series. 

Price. 10c. per Niirafeer, Post-paid. 
Pardee <& Sme'thj ^^entSj 

Copyrighted, 1898, by Barbee & Smith, Agents. - 






4 



f ^ 3obn pen&lefon IkenneM?. 

_ ^ ^ T N Tuckerman's " Life of Kenne- 
jV^^. I dy" is told a story which illus- 
*^ "; X trates the relative social advan- 
tages of politics and literature in 
ante-bellum days. Washington Irv- 
ing and Kennedy were making a 
journey together in the western 
part of New York. The two, fa- 
tigued by travel, arrived at a crowded 
hotel late at night, and found their 
request for rooms refused. Mr. 
Kennedy took the landlord aside 
and suggested that the popular au- 
thor, Irving, was entitled to special 
consideration. Not knowing that 
the gentleman who addressed him 
was one of the party, the landl(^ ^ Z ■, 
said:. "Never heard of him, biftlj^, 
that gentleman with him shall have 
a room; he has been in Congress 
and Secretary of the Navy.'" The 




5obn iPenMeton IRenneOis. 

story of Mr. Kennedy's career apart 
from his work in literature is of 
great interest, since he Uved through 
a large portion of the formative pe- 
riod of the American nation, and 
knew intimately a large number of 
the men who directed affairs. Be- 
sides, he was no unimportant factor 
in the councils of a great party 
noted for its large number of strong 
intellects. 

In 1 8 14 a little army of volun- 
teers and citizen-soldiers marched 
from Baltimore in the direction of 
Washington, with the vain hope of 
saving the capital of the nation. 
Among that number was John P. 
Kennedy, a youth of nineteen just 
from college. From that time un- 
til his death, in 1870, he had more 
or less interest in public affairs. 
Once a member of the President's 
Cabinet, three times in Congress, 
three times a member of the Mary- 
land Legislature, a lawyer of abili- 
ty and a writer of no mean repute, 
224 



5obn pcnMeton ticnnct>t* 

for nearly or quite a half-century, 
he knew not only the ablest public 
men, but the greatest lawyers and 
best writers of this country, besides 
meeting many of those from abroad. 
To know his life is to know the 
political and literary history of the 
country through a long and impor- 
tant period of time. For many 
years he was one of the accepted 
leaders of the great Whig party, 
making many addresses and often 
occupying the same platform with 
Clay and other great leaders. Much 
of the time business interests other 
than law and politics engaged his at- 
tention ; but, notwithstanding these 
drafts upon his time and strength, 
soon after his death, in 1870, his 
works were published, and consisted 
of ten volumes. Among these were 
three novels popular in their day — 
a political satire, a memoir of the 
life of Wirt in two volumes — ^be- 
sides numerous essays and ad- 
dresses. 

225 



5obn iPen&leton ftenneDij. 

Mr. Kennedy's birthplace was 
Baltimore. This was also his place 
of residence most of his life, though, 
his mother being a native of Vir- 
ginia, her son came to be very fa- 
miliar with the country and people 
there. Many journeys were made 
on horseback over portions of the 
state, particularly during the sum- 
mers. His mother was a Pendle- 
ton, and was related to many dis- 
tinguished people in Virginia and 
other states. Through his mother 
he was cousin to Philip Pendleton 
and John Esten Cooke, and was re- 
lated to David Strother, the artist, 
and author of the "Porte Crayon" 
sketches. John Kennedy, the father 
of the subject of this sketch, was of a 
Scottish family. One branch crossed 
over to Ireland, and, in part at least, 
finally reached America. John Ken- 
nedy came from the North of Ire- 
land, and became a merchant in 
Baltimore. He was married to Miss 
Nancy Pendleton, a daughter of " 
226 



5obn ^en&lcton IkenneOg. 

Philip Pendleton, of Martinsburg, 
Va., in 1 794. Of his father, J. P. 
Kennedy says : " My father was 
a kind and excellent man. , . . He 
was respected and loved by his 
townsmen and was an upright, lib- 
eral, true-hearted man, who always 
did his duty and stood by his friend. 
He was involved in some unlucky 
speculations in 1804 by his partner, 
Mr. Benjamin Cox, which resulted 
in bankruptcy in 1809." A rich 
bachelor brother, Anthony Kenne- 
dy, who resided near Philadelphia, 
paid off the debts and enabled the 
father of John P. Kennedy to con- 
tinue in business in a small way. 
That same Anthony finally left 
about $70,000 to the four sons of 
his brother John, of Baltimore. 

The Kennedys were Presbyteri- 
ans ; hence John P. Kennedy, who 
was born October 25, 1795, v/as 
duly baptized by a minister of that 
Church. He was sent to school at 
quite an early age, having various 
227 



5obn iPenMetott IftenneDB. 

teachers, some indifferent, some 
good; one, Mr. William Sinclair, 
becoming his friend and guide for 
many years. A miscellaneous ca- 
reer of authorship was pursued by 
the ambitious boy, while an ill- 
planned effort was made to master- 
almost all studies. In an autobiog- 
raphy, taken up from time to time, 
but never made very full, Kennedy 
says : " I studied Greek a whole 
winter, by rising before daylight.., 
I read Locke, Hume, Robertson; 
all the essayists and poets, and many 
of the metaphysicians; studied 
Burke, Taylor, Barrow ; worked at 
chemistry, geometry, and the high- 
er mathematics, although I never 
loved them ; made copious notes on 
all the subjects that came within 
my study ; sketched, painted (very 
badly) ; read French, Spanish, and 
began German; copied large por- 
tions of Pope's translations of Ho- 
mer, and wrote critical notes upon 
it as I went along ; in short, I thor- 
228 



5obn penDletort ttenneDg* 

oughly overworked myself through 
a number of years in these pursuits, 
gaining much less advantage by the 
labor than, I am confident, I could 
have secured, with better guidance, 
in half the time. In this reference 
to my studies I have run somewhat 
ahead of the due course of my nar- 
rative. What I have said applies 
rather to my college life than to 
that period when I was under the 
preparations of the academy." 

Kennedy remembers himself to 
have been a thoughtless youth 
while living in town, but his over- 
strained efforts at study and author- 
ship began in 1809 when his father 
removed to " Shrub Hill," a cottage 
in the country. On account of feeble 
health his mother traveled a great 
deal, always ending the circuit with 
a stay of a month or two at Mar- 
tinsburg, Va. The embryo author 
was her companion much of the 
time. He says : " My college life, 
I may say, began in 1808, when I 
229 



Jobn ipenDleton ftenneDig* 

was thirteen years old, and ended 
with a diploma in 1812. I entered 
the Baltimore College at its first 
establishment. ... In the four 
years of my college career I went 
through the usual course of Latin 
and Greek authors ; a short and im- 
perfect system of mathematics, in 
which I took the smallest interest; 
some physical science done up in a 
very meager volume ; and, along 
with these, a barren and absurd 
scheme of logic in Latin, and some 
incomprehensible metaphysics. 
French I acquired with considerable 
accuracy, and could speak and write 
it tolerably well. I got some little 
Spanish also, though not much." 
*' Shrub Hill " was near enough for 
college to be reached by pony or the 
gig. Not the least important thing 
connected with the college was a 
debating society. Of this young 
Kennedy continued a member for 
some years after graduation. Dur- 
ing life he continued to have a high 
230 



5obn penDleton IJtenneD^. 

opinion of the usefulness of such 
societies. This debating society 
drifted him to the law as inevitably 
as fate, though in the meantime had 
come his soldier episode. Balti- 
more was for a time an extensive 
military garrison, with all the ex- 
citement incident to such situation. 

The troops with which young 
Kennedy marched took part in the 
battle of Bladensburg, and were 
hardly as successful as the troops at 
Fort McHenry when Key wrote 
the " Star-Spangled Banner." 

After his brief military experi- 
ence Mr. Kennedy continued his 
law studies, entering the office of 
Walter Dorsey, Esq., an eminent 
practitioner of Baltimore. This 
city, numbering five thousand in 
Revolutionary days, had increased 
in population and importance. The 
foremost lawyers, the chief actors, 
and not a few noted newspaper 
men had graced its precincts. Will- 
iam Pinkney, minister to England, 
231 



5obn DenMeton fcenneOs. 

United States Senator, Attorney- 
General, soldier, orator, and schol- 
ar, made his home in Baltimore, 
and added to its fame. His son, 
Edward Coate Pinkney, wrote two 
poems, which still hold a place in 
all collections of best American 
poetry. David Hoffman and Brantz 
Mayer were not unknown as wri- 
ters in their day. Edgar Allan 
Poe lived for a time in the "City 
by the Sea." Jared Sparks, John 
Pierpont, John Neal, and other 
knights of the pen dwelt there for 
a time. The city had some resem- 
blance to an English town, and was 
possessed of an air of genial culture 
and good fellowship, most of the 
better families being intimate ac- 
quaintances and friends. A library 
existed, and reading was the fash- 
ion. Naturally a young man of 
Kennedy's taste would divide time 
between law and literature, contrib- 
uting ever and anon to the papers* 
He was admitted to the bar and be- 
232 



5obn pcnDlcton ftcnneD^^* 

gan practise in J?Si6, While the 
practise was in a measure distaste- 
ful, he was a great admirer of law- 
yers, as shown in his *'Life of 
Wirt" and in « Swallow Barn." 

The bar of Baltimore was re- 
nowned at that time, and, in fact, in 
the South in ante-bellum days law- 
yers more largely than any other class 
possessed literary discrimination and 
ability. Those who knew Mr. Ken- 
nedy at that early period claimed for 
him special adaptation for his cho- 
sen pursuit. Letters wooed him 
anon. For a while he was editor of 
the Baltimore American, Later, 
with a Mr. Cruse, he issued from 
time to time the "Red Book," an 
anonymous collection of prose and 
verse somewhat similar to the " Sal- 
magundi" of Irving and Paulding. 
This appeared at intervals for two 
years, and was chiefly advantageous 
for the practise in writing which it 
gave the young men. 

From 1820 Mr. Kennedy was 
233 



Bobn penDleton '^enneDig. 

<Jfawn more and more into public 
life, being in demand as a speaker 
at political meetings. Of his speak- 
ing it is said: "There was a mag- 
netic charm about his manner, and 
often a finished cadence or quiet 
h^imor in his tone, which, combined 
with the good sense upon which his 
appeal or protest was based, secured 
him respectful attention and encour- 
aging sympathy." He was what 
miight be called a charter member 
of the Whig party, favoring John 
Quincy Adams, and supporting the 
various Whig candidates, state and 
national. His first term in the 
Maryland Legislature began in 
1820. He was reelected for the 
two following years. In 1823 he 
was appointed Secretary of Lega- 
tion to Chili, but declined the posi- 
tion. He was elected to Congress 
in 1838, serving three terms in all, 
though in 1840 he was elector on 
the Harrison ticket. In 1846 he 
was again elected to the Maryland 
234 



5obn penMeton IKenncO^e* 

House of Delegates and was made 
Speaker. In 1850, during the ad- 
ministration of Mr. Fillmore, Mr. 
Kennedy became Secretary of the 
Navy, rendering permanent and 
valuable public service. On the 
election of Franklin Pierce Mr. 
Kennedy retired from public life, 
not losing, however, interest in pub^ 
lie affairs, since he, like his kinsman, 
"Porte Crayon," opposed the disi 
ruption of the Union in 1861. 

Mr. Kennedy's first marriage oc*^ 
curred in 1824. His wife was a 
daughter of Judge Tennant, of Bal^ 
timore, and lived less than a year 
after marriage. Five years later 
he was married to Miss Elizabeth 
Gray, who survived him. This 
marriage was an extremely happy 
one during all the forty-one years 
which followed. Soon after this 
marriage he began to devote his 
evenings to more ambitious literary 
effort, though his days were sedu^ 
lously occupied with legal business. 
235 



Jobn penDlcton •RenneDs. 

The frequent visits to Virginia, be- 
gun with his mother and continued 
by himself on various horseback 
journeys, now became a part of his 
life. In company with his wife he 
visited White Sulphur Springs or 
other portions of Virginia almost 
every summer. This gave him an 
intimate knowledge of the habits, oc- 
cupations, way of looking at things — 
in fact, the life of the people of the 
Old Dominion, dear to him as the 
abode of loving kindred and the 
scene where he first learned to love 
and survey nature. Added to this, 
the large hospitality, genial manners, 
and romantic history of a state of 
which he was half a native had al- 
ways been matters of deep interest 
to him. The rising lawyer and 
politician endeavored to portray 
these things as he saw them in a 
series of elaborate sketches, 

" Swallow Barn ; or, A Sojourn 
in the Old Dominion" appeared in 
1832. Simms published "Atalantis " 
236 



Sobn |>cnOleton iRenneDis, 

the same year, and Martin Faber 
his first novel, a year later. Tuck- 
erman, in the "Life of John P. 
Kennedy," says : *' When ' Swallow 
Barn' first appeared few vivid and 
faithful pictures of American life 
had been executed. Paulding had 
described Dutch colonial life in 
New York; Tudor had published 
letters from New England; Flint 
and Hall had given us graphic 
sketches of the West, toward which 
virgin domain the tide of emigra- 
tion had set; but, with the excep- 
tion of a few impressive and fin- 
ished legendary tales from the then 
unappreciated pen of Hawthorne 
and the genuine American novels, 
the ' Spy ' and the ' Pioneer,' of 
Cooper, American authorship had 
scarcely surveyed, far less invaded, 
the rich fields of local tradition and 
native life. Accordingly 'Swallow 
Barn' met with a prompt and cor- 
dial reception. Emanating from a 
man of leisure, it was hailed as the 
237 



5obn iPenDleton "^enneD^. 

precursor of a series of works im- 
bued with the spirit and devoted 
to the illustration of our history, 
scenery, and manners. It was wel- 
comed by rare critical appreciation." 
"The style of 'Swallow Barn,'" 
said the New Tork Review^ " is pol- 
ished and graceful ; its distinguish- 
ing feature is its pure Americanism. 
The story of Abe and the negro 
mother, for pathos and power, is not 
surpassed by anything that has yet 
appeared in the literature of our coun- 
try." " This," remarked the North 
American Review^ then in its palmy 
days, " is a work of great merit and 
promise. It is attributed to a gen- 
tleman of Baltimore, already ad- 
vantageously known to the public 
by several productions of less com- 
pass and various styles. The pres- 
ent attempt proves that he combines 
with the talent and spirit he had 
previously exhibited the resources, 
perseverance, and industry that are 
necessary to the accomplishment 



of extensive works. We do not 
know that we can better express 
our friendly feelings for him than 
by expressing the wish that the 
success which this production has 
met with may induce him to with- 
draw his attention from other ob- 
jects and devote himself entirely to 
the elegant pursuits of polite litera- 
ture, for which his taste and talent 
are so well adapted, and in which 
the demand for labor — to borrow an 
expression from a science to which 
he is no stranger — is still more 
pressing than in law, political econ- 
omy, and politics." In " Swallow 
Barn " is portrayed a picture of the 
scenery, manners, and rural life of 
Virginia soon after the close of the 
Revolutionary war. Says the work 
under consideration ; "Swallow 
Barn is an aristocratical old edifice 
which sits, like a brooding hen, on 
the southern bank of the James Riv- 
er." The author connects with 
this and the " Brakes," four miles 
2 239 



5obn I^enDleton IRenncD^, 

down on the same side of the river, 
much of the free and cheerful life 
of that time. There are the swamps 
and superstitions; the woodcraft; 
the county court ; the plantation din- 
ner, with its table, wisdom, and 
mirth; the pride, purity, improvi- 
dence, rhetoric, horsemanship, 
hunting, politics, humors, loves, 
and loyalty of native Virginian and 
visitor. A love-suit and a lawsuit 
are not forgotten, nor is the old mill, 
the spoiled old negro, the proud 
and high-spirited maiden, the crotch- 
ety and chivalric old man, the 
rides, the romps; in fact, no detail 
is wanting to make complete the 
picture of those days of high hopes 
and quiet but perennial mirth which 
made an Arcadia of the glorious 
Old Dominion. No historian can 
afford to neglect the pages of 
« Swallow Barn." The book had a 
run, and brought its author much 
kindly recognition. Twenty years, 
and a new edition was called for. 
240 



S^obn penDleton IRenneO)^. 

The demand has never ceased, Put- 
nams having brought out a new 
edition two years ago. 

In style Kennedy follows closely 
his friend Irving's " Bracebridge 
Hall," then ten years old and justly 
popular. In truth to local traits 
Kennedy perhaps excelled all who 
have entered upon a description of 
Virginia, though not a few have es- 
sayed that task, among whom may 
be named the original and pic- 
turesque John Smith ; Jefferson, in 
" Notes on Virginia ; " Wirt's '* Let- 
ters of a British Spy ; " Irving, in 
his " Life of Washington ; " Dr. 
Caruthers, in " Cavaliers of Vir- 
ginia," a work published in the 
same year as " Swallow Barn ; " 
Thackeray, in the " Virginians," of 
which Kennedy is said to have writ- 
ten the fourth chapter of the second 
volume while in Paris. 

In 1 819 Mr. Kennedy made a 
horseback journey from Augusta, 
Ga., through the western part of 
241 



5obn pen&Ieton Ikcnnc^^. 

South Carolina. Seeking shelter 
for the night on one occasion, he 
encountered a remarkable man, and 
heard from his lips the story of his 
exploits at a critical period of the 
Revolution. This became the basis 
of "Horseshoe Robinson," one of 
the most thrilling romances which 
America has produced. We are 
told that the scenery, incidents, and 
characters are faithfully reproduced 
from the reality ; that, when in after- 
years the finished story was submit- 
ted to the hero, he said : " It's all true 
and right — in its right place — except- 
ing about them women, which I dis- 
remember." The time is in that dark 
period when the British arms had 
prevailed in the South, and a few 
patriots were holding fastnesses in 
mountain and swamp from which 
to harass British and Tory, that all 
might not be destroyed. The de- 
scription of the battle of King's 
Mountain has been regarded as one 
of the best ever written. "Horse- 
242 



5obn iPenDleton i^enne&i^. 

shoe Robinson" was published in 
1 836, and was received with marked 
favor. By another hand it was ef- 
fectively dramatized nearly a quar- 
ter of a century later. 

" Rob of the Bowl," Mr. Kenne- 
dy's third work, appeared in 1838, 
the year in which he was first 
elected to Congress. No doubt his 
public services for the next few 
years cut short further excursions 
into the domain of romantic fiction. 
"Rob of the Bowl" describes the 
province of Maryland in the days 
of the second Lord Baltimore, when 
the capital was Port St. Mary's, on 
the left bank of St. Mary's River. 
The key-note is historical. The 
dangers, the problems, the jealous- 
ies, the smuggling, the bitter feuds 
between the Church of England 
and that of Rome — all are vividly 
brought out. The characters make 
strong figures as they are portrayed. 
Being at the storm-center of poli- 
tics, so to speak, his observations 
243 



5obn iPenDleton IkcnneDis. 

revealed themselves in 1840 as 
" Quodlibet : Containing Some An- 
nals Thereof by Solomon Second- 
thought, Schoolmaster." Various 
phases of a partizan campaign are 
portrayed with ludicrous solemnity. 
"Memoir of the Life of William 
Wirt," in two volumes, by Kenne- 
dy, came from the press in 1849. 
During Mr. Wirt's practise at the 
Baltimore bar Mr. Kennedy had 
become his intimate friend. Mr. 
Wirt, rising from an obscure family 
and without a college education, had 
by patient study, noble ambition, 
generosity of heart, and grace of 
manner won his way to an honor- 
able position in his profession and 
a warm place in the hearts of his 
friends. Like Mr. Kennedy, he 
loved literature, had gifts in that 
field, and ever hoped to be able to 
turn aside from the arduous strug- 
gle involved by straitened cir- 
cumstances that he might attempt 
serious work in the field chosen. 
244 



5obn ipenoieton ticmct)^. 

of his heart. His " Life of Patrick 
Henry," " Letters of a British Spy," 
and various sketches are only to- 
kens of that longing. On the death 
of Mr. Wirt, in 1834, Mr. Kennedy 
had delivered before the Maryland 
bar a eulogy on Wirt. This was a 
graceful and eloquent tribute which 
delighted his auditors and led, in 
course of time, to his selection as 
biographer. 

Mr. Kennedy took the Union 
side at the breaking out of the 
war. At the commencement of 
the third year he wrote a series of 
letters for the National Intelli- 
gencer, At the close of the war 
these were collected into a volume 
under the title of "Mr. Ambrose's 
Letters on the Rebellion." He con- 
tinued more or less interested in 
public affairs until his death, which 
occurred August 18, 1870. 

Some one has said of Mr. Ken- 
nedy : " His life is greater than his 
"works." His correspondence was 
245 



5obn ^enMeton IkenneDg. 

extensive, and his addresses were 
of more than passing interest on 
account of the loftiness of tone and 
thought as well as the literary ex- 
cellence. He was ever ready with 
a word of encouragement for young 
people in their struggles and dis- 
couragements, and no one was more 
delighted in their successes. His 
letters to literary men ever flow 
with cordial encouragement. Their 
projects found in him a sympathet- 
ic supporter. Washington Irving 
and Kennedy took to each other on 
first acquaintance and this soon ri- 
pened into lasting friendship. Vis- 
its were exchanged, and their let- 
ters to each other were in the most 
cordial terms. There was a tone 
of pleasant banter mutually inter- 
changed between " Geoffrey Cray- 
on " and " My Dear Horseshoe." 
His pleasant letters to Willis, Pres- 
cott, Simms, J. R. Thompson, Poe, 
and others, showed his unvarying- 
interest in American letters. Thack- 
246 



5obn iPenDleton ItcnnetJ^. 



eray and other literary men visiting 
Baltimore found in him a ready co- 
adjutor. While Secretary of the 
Navy he fostered the expedition of 
Dr. Kane to the arctic seas as 
well as Commodore Perry's mis- 
sion to Japan. Richardson says : 
" Kennedy, like Paulding, filled the 
office qf Secretary of the Navy, 
and well illustrated that union of 
wholesome manliness with bookish 
tastes which was beginning to be a 
characteristic of our literature. The 
turmoil of American politics has 
over and over again left place, in 
diplomatic service or public station 
at home, for historians, essayists, 
novelists, or poets, who also have 
been, like Kennedy, efficient and 
honored servants of their country 
and leaders of their party. . . . 
Had Kennedy's graceful pen been 
driven by a genius more forcefully 
creative, the result of his lifelong 
devotion to literature would have 
been considerable." 
247 



3obn £0ten doolie. 

A YOUNG lawyer of Rich- 
mond, Va., published a novel 
in 1853, the scene of which 
was laid in the Valley of Virginia, 
so soon to be shaken by the tread 
of armies and made famous with 
the blazonry of stirring deeds. The 
success of this first effort sufficed to 
take the author from the bar into 
the fields of romance. The story 
was " Leather Stocking and Silk,'* 
published by Harper & Brothers. 
The author's name was not then at- 
tached to the book, but was soon to 
grace the title-pages of other and 
better works. The "Virginia Co- 
medians," in two volumes, by John 
Esten Cooke, appeared in 1854. 
The same year was likewise pro- 
ductive of the "Youth of Jeffer- 
son," based on the letters of that 
statesman. The newly found pen 
248 



5obn iBetcn Cooftc. 

of the rising author was not allowed 
much rest, as " Ellie," a novel, was 
published at Richmond in the fol- 
lowing year. Again, the next year, 
the "Last of the Foresters" ap- 
peared from New York. The year 
1859 was signalized by the publica- 
tion of "Henry St. John, Gentleman," 
a tale of 1774-75, a sequel to the 
" Comedians." In addition to these 
more ambitious works, the same 
facile pen had written regularly for 
Putnam's and Harper's Magazines, 
besides furnishing prose and verse 
for the Southern Literary Messen- 
ger^ around which even then clus- 
tered memories of Poe. 

These few years had been pro- 
lific, but Virginia called for her 
sons, and the pen was laid aside for 
the sword. The private became 
the captain, and served on the staff 
of Gens. Stuart and Pendleton. 
The heroic deeds which he wit- 
nessed thenceforward projected 
themselves into his best romances.. 
249 



5obn iBstcn Coolie. 

Capt. Cooke is ^ar excellence the 
novelist as well as historian of the 
matchless campaigns of Lee and 
Jackson. 

John Esten Cooke was born at 
Winchester, Va., November 3, 1830. 
His father, John Rogers Cooke, 
was one of the most distinguished 
lawyers of Virginia, practising for 
more than forty years. During 
that time he took part in nearly all 
the great cases carried to the higher 
courts. In 1829 he was a member 
of the convention which framed the 
constitution of Virginia, and was a 
member of the committee which 
drafted that instrument, serving with 
Chief -Justice Marshall, ex-Presi- 
dent Madison, and John Randolph. 
Gen. Philip St. George Cooke, the 
uncle of John Esten, was a Federal 
soldier during the war, although his 
son-in-law was the brave and dash- 
ing Confederate cavalry leader, Gen. 
J. E. B. Stuart. John Esten Cooke's 
mother was Miss Maria, daughter 
250 



5obu JSBten Qool^c* 

of Philip Pendleton, of Martins. . 
burg, Va., and hence a sister of J- 
P. Kennedy's mother. Some one 
has claimed that the chief families 
of the Old Dominion are all re- 
lated. Who has not heard of the 
poem " Florence Vane ? " This has 
been translated into many languages, 
and has been set to music by cele- 
brated composers. Other poems by 
Philip Pendleton Cooke were very 
popular. "Froissort Ballads," and 
other poems, were edited by this 
brother of the younger novelist. 

Mr. J. E. Cooke's early boyhood 
was spent at " Glengary," his fa- 
ther's country-seat, in the Valley of 
Virginia. When he was ten years 
of age his father removed to Rich- 
mond to practise in the court of 
appeals. John Esten attended an 
ordinary Virginia school, his last 
teacher being Dr. Burke, of Rich- 
mond, an excellent teacher of lan- 
guages. He left school at the age 
of sixteen to study law with his far 
251 



5obn JBetcn coofte. 

ther, and was admitted to the bar 
before he was twenty - one. He 
seems to have practised three or 
four years, but, judging- from the 
rapidity with which his books came 
from the press after the first was 
published, the disciple of Blackstone 
was already intent upon authorship. 
What leads a young man toward 
literary effort is often difficult to 
discover. The Southern Litej'ary 
Messenger had attracted favorable 
notice. Some men of ability were 
among its contributors. William 
Wirt had dabbled in literature, his 
cousin Kennedy had entered the 
field of letters and plucked not a 
few laurels. Cooper had found 
fertile fields in the North, and Will- 
liam Gilmore Simms was busy with 
the legends and history of the 
South. 

This is Mr. Cooke's own version 

of his literary aspirations : " My 

aim has been to paint the Virginia 

phase of American society, to do 

252 



5obn iBstcn Goofte. 



for the Old Dominion what Cooper 
has done for the Indians, Simms for 
the Revolutionary drama in South 
Carolina, Irving for the Dutch 
Knickerbockers, and Hawthorne for 
the weird Puritan life of New Eng- 
land." It is said that Irving exer- 
cised a strong spell over the imagi- 
nation of Cooke, Mr. Eugene L. 
Didier tells of a visit made to Irv- 
ing as one of the brightest recollec- 
tions of John Esten Cooke's life. 
From his youth he had admired 
" Geoffrey Crayon." " Bram Bones," 
« Rip Van Winkle," and " Ichabod 
Crane " had been real beings. How 
delightful, then, must have been an- 
ticipations of meeting with the vet- 
eran author at " Sunnyside ! " This 
is the story : The first sight of the 
object of his youthful admiration 
was certainly a disappointment. He 
was short and stout, and his coun- 
tenance gave no outward indication 
of the intelligence within. He 
looked more like a plain country 
253 



3-01)11 ^Btcn QooUc. 

gentleman v/ith a taste for raising- 
the best breed of cattle or the big- 
gest turnips than a man possessing 
the rare literary taste of the author 
of the "Sketch Book." But it 
soon became apparent that there 
was more about the serene old gen- 
tleman than was seen at the first 
glance. The tranquillity of his man- 
ner was not the torpor of a dull in- 
tellect, but the repose of power. 
He was full of anecdotes of the au- 
thors and artists whom he had known 
during his long and varied expe- 
rience at home and abroad : Scott, 
Moore, Allston, Leslie, G. P. R. 
James, Dickens, etc. He spoke of 
the frequent visits of Louis Napo- 
leon to " Sunnyside " on his way to 
West Point, when he was in Amer- 
ica in 1839. He was very silent 
and reserved, but was perfectly well- 
bred. " Nov^^ he is an emperor ! " 
exclaimed Irving. " What a strange 
world this ! I knew the empress 
when she was a little girl in Ma- 
254 



5obn iBstcn coofee. 

drid, and have often dandled her on 
my knee — Eugenie Montijo. I saw 
her afterward, when she was a 
grown girl, with remarkably line 
head and beautiful bust and shoul- 
ders. She used to go to the fancy 
balls in Spain as a female mousque- 
taire. The last time I was in Wash- 
ington, and saw Calderon, the Span- 
ish minister, he said to me : ' Good 
heaven, Irving, think of it! little 
Eugenie Montijo an empress ! 
Hump ! hump ! ' " 

We are told that Mr. Cooke was 
possessed of a very attractive per- 
sonal appearance. He was of me- 
dium height, well-formed, and had 
dark features, fine eyes with win- 
ning expression, and that courtly 
grace which he was wont to de- 
scribe in the Old Virginia cavalier. 
A devoted student, he preferred 
that life to all others. What might 
have been his career or his choice 
of subjects but for the war it is, of 
course, difficult to surmise. He had 
3 255 



Jobn :S6ten cooRe, 



shown a preference for capital and 
brocade rather than for wigwam 
and cahin. The statesmen and beau- 
ties of picturesque old Williamsburg 
seem to have held a fascination for 
him. In and near the streets and 
mansions, the Raleigh Tavern, and 
the theater of what was once the 
Southern Boston, occurs the action 
of the " Virginia Comedians." Of 
the sequel to this work, " Henry 
St. John, Gentleman," James Wood 
Davidson says : " This again is a 
tale of pre- Revolutionary days, lo- 
cated principally in the county of 
Prince George, Va., and is full of 
the fire and iron of those times. A 
Southern critic has pronounced this, 
'by great odds, the best American 
historical novel,' and there are 
weighty reasons for the opinion." 
Of this story, nearly a quarter of a 
century after the issuance of the 
first edition, its author wrote as fol- 
lows : " This era of fullest develop- 
ment was that chosen by the writer 
256 



5obn iBBtcn Coo'kc* 

for his picture of Virginia society. 
It is the moment when all the fea- 
tures which distinguish the race are 
seen in the boldest relief. What 
precedes it is the period when the 
community, in process of forma- 
tion, has lived in and for itself. 
What follows it is the new age, 
when the colony has become a unit 
of the republic. That fact neces- 
sarily worked a very great change 
in society ; the new regime effaced 
the old ; and thus the years just 
preceding the final conflict with Eng- 
land present the fullest and most 
characteristic picture of the Virginia 
people. The turbulent old adven- 
turers had been succeeded by quiet 
citizens ; the rough swordsmen who 
had fought with Bacon against 
Charles II. by ruffled dignitaries — 
powdered planters, who lived in 
luxury on their estates amid swarms 
of dependents, administered justice 
in the county courts, watched over 
their Church as energetic vestry- 
257 



5obn :iS6ten Coofte* 

men, sat as members of the burgess- 
es, and ruled society as its natural 
lords. The rough old society had 
thus flowered into what very much 
resembled an aristocracy ; but the 
student, looking closer, will see 
many traits to modify the picture. 
Under the surface of the pompous 
old " nabob ' was the obstinate man- 
hood of a strong race. His misfor- 
tune is that his critics have looked 
only at the surface. They have 
been blinded by that imposing ap- 
paratus of class distinctions, hy 
what one might see anywhere in 
America at that time, the spectacle 
of superbly dressed men and wom- 
en in silks and laces rolling in their 
chariots, making formal Old World 
bows as they moved in the royal 
minuet, superbly conscious, one 
would say, that the world was made 
only for themselves. But all this 
splendor of living did not prevent 
the Virginia planter from being a 
type of the highest manhood. In 
258 



John JBetcn Coofte. 

all times he had stood up for his 
right as a freeman." 

At the beginning of the war 
John Esten Cooke entered the Con- 
federate army as a private, serving 
first in the artillery and afterward 
in the cavalry. He was on the 
staff of Gen. J. E. B. Stuart a large 
portion of the time, and took part 
in most of the battles fought in 
Virginia. At Lee's surrender he 
was inspector-general of the horse- 
artillery of the army of Northern 
Virginia. The highest encomiums 
have been passed upon his soldierly 
qualities, but his pen seems not to 
have been altogether idle even In 
those stirring times, since a sketch 
of Stonewall Jackson was published 
in Richmond in 1863, which proved 
to be his production, and which 
was enlarged in 1866 to " Life of 
Stonewall Jackson." At the close 
of the war Capt. Cooke returned to 
the Valley of Virginia, the home of 
his early childhood, and the scene 
259 



5o&n :Ssten Cocfee. 

of much of the war drama v/here 
he had marched and fought with 
the " foot cavalry " of Jackson, and 
where "Jeb" Stuart's bold riders 
had fearlessly followed their lead- 
er's plume and song. 

In 1867 John Esten Cooke was 
most happily married to Miss Mary 
FrancesPage,and their home thence- 
forward was the " Briars," in the 
beautiful valley of the Shenandoah. 
His neighbors were the Nelsons, 
the Pages, the Randolphs, and oth- 
ers of the best families of Virginia. 
He lived and enjoyed until his death, 
in 1886, the free and easy life of 
the Virginia gentleman — plenty of 
horses, plenty of dogs, with hunt- 
ing and fishing, reading and writing, 
to vary the monotony. He had 
ever been a lover of good books, 
and gathered around him a goodly 
collection. He keenly enjoyed the 
sport of hunting, and there was fine 
sport in the Shenandoah mountains, 
and fish abounded in the mountain 
260 



5obn Bsten coofte* 

streams. Six o'clock in the morn- 
ing found him in the library, as he 
considered the early morning hours 
the best for literary work. 

The first book which Capt. Cooke 
published after the war was " Sur- 
ry of Eagle's Nest." This is said 
to have been written in the autumn 
of 1865, though no doubt much of 
the material had already been pre- 
pared. It is difficult to conceive 
how a more thrilling war romance 
could be written. Pelham, Ashby, 
Stuart, Jackson, Lee — where could 
such actors be had for another 
drama? The story was not one 
which the novelist had dreamed, 
was not one whose materials had 
been gathered by reading or hear- 
say, but he recorded what he had 
seen Lee, Jackson, and Stuart do> 
and what he had heard them say. 
The author had " hung up a dingy 
gray uniform and battered old sa* 
ber," and proposed to tell the story 
ior his children and grandchildren 
261 



5obn :s80ten coofte^ 



as they clustered in fancy about his 
knees. This was a work of love 
such as had fallen to the lot of few 
men. Says the writer: "I think 
those dear coming grandchildren 
will take an interest in my adven- 
tures. They will belong to the 
fresh, new generation ; and all the 
jealousies, hatreds, and corroding 
passions of the present epoch will 
have disappeared by that time. 
Simple curiosity will replace the 
old hatred, the bitter antagonism of 
the partizan will yield to the philo- 
sophic interest of the student, and 
the events and personages of this 
agitated period will be calmly dis- 
cussed by the winter fireside. How 
Lee looked and Stuart spoke, how 
Jackson lived that wondrous life of 
his, and Ashby charged upon his 
milk-white steed — of this the com- 
ing generations will talk, and I 
think they will take more interesi 
in such things than in the most 
brilliant arguments about secession. 
262 



Jobn iBstcn Qoofic* 



Therefore, good reader, whom I 
will never see in the flesh, I am 
going to make some pictures, if I 
can, of what I have seen. Come! 
Perhaps, as you follow me, you 
v/ill live in the stormy days of a 
convulsed epoch, breathe its fiery 
atmosphere, and see its mighty 
forms as they defile before you in a 
long and noble line. To revive 
those days, surround you with that 
atmosphere, and reproduce those 
figures which have descended into 
the tomb, is the aim which I pro- 
posed to myself in writing these 
memoirs." 

It might seem that " Surry of 
Eagle's Nest" has too many war 
heroes to move easily, yet among 
them moves the hero. Col. Surry, 
the proud May Beverly, the brave 
Mordaunt, the delightful Violet 
Grafton, and a well-drawn villain^ 
Fenwick. The pathos of the 
mighty struggle pours itself into 
the book as one by one Pelham, 
263 



5obn ^3tcn Coofee, 

Ashby, Jackson, and Stuart fall in 
battle. We catch something of the 
sense of desolation which crept into 
the hearts of the survivors when so 
many heroes had perished. 

The story became popular imme- 
diately on publication, seven edi- 
tions being sold in a short time. 
The transition from " Surry of Ea- 
gle's Nest " to the " Life of Stone- 
wall Jackson" was easy, and was 
made the following year. The au- 
thor had now found his field, and 
deeds of heroic endeavor had found 
a faithful and enthusiastic chroni- 
cler. No wonder need be expressed 
that he should work a field which 
had proved so popular. In close suc- 
cession followed « Mohun," " Hilt 
to Hilt," " Hammer and Rapier," 
and "Wearing the Gray" — all writ- 
ten con amore by a man who knew 
what he wrote, and all having about 
them an atmosphere of chivalric 
deeds. A brief return to colonial 
Virginia occurs in " Fairfax ; or, 
264 



S^obn Estcn Coofte, 

The Master of Greenway Court,'*^ 
which appeared in 1868. The com- 
plaint is made that the old earl, who 
had always been a figure of interest, 
did not find in this case a historian 
who devoted a sufficient amount of 
time and attention to the elucidation 
of his subject. How could he re- 
turn to those earlier days with char- 
acters of larger proportions so near 
at hand? Complaint is made again 
that Virginia in the war hid from 
his vision all men and deeds not of 
her borders. 

John Esten Cooke must ever re- 
main preeminently the novelist of 
the war from the Southern stand- 
point. While ever an ardent South- 
erner, he wrote without bitterness. 
Of the times when the Grays and 
Blues opposed each other he says : 
" I think of it without bitterness. 
God did it — God the almighty, the 
all- wise — for his own purpose. I do 
not indulge in repinings or reflect 
with rancor upon the issue of the 
265 



5obtt B0ten Coofte. 



struggle. I prefer recalling the 
stirring adventures, the brave voices, 
the gallant faces; even in that tre- 
mendous drama of 1864-65 I can 
find something besides blood and 
tears." 

Perhaps a complete bibliography 
of Capt, Cooke's works has not 
been made, but in addition to those 
already mentioned in this sketch 
the follov^ing may be found in Ap- 
pleton's "Cyclopedia : " " Out of the 
Foam " ( 1859) ; " The Heir of Gay- 
mount" (1870); "Life of Gen. R. 
E. Lee" (1871); "Dr. Van Dyke, 
a Story of Virginia in the Last 
Century" (1872); "Her Majesty 
the Queen" (1873); "Pretty Mrs. 
Gaston, and Other Stories " ( 1874) 
"Justin Harley" (1874); "Canol- 
les, a Story of Cornwallis' Vir- 
ginia Campaign (1877) ; "Profess- 
or Pressensee, a Story" (1878) 
" Virginia Bohemians and Stories 
of the Old Dominion" (1879) 
" Virginia : A History of the Peo- 
266 



5obn Bsten Coolie. 

pie," Boston (1883); "Maurice 
Mystery" (1885). 

Much of Cooke's writing lies 
scattered through the pages of va- 
rious periodicals, and has never 
been collected into book form. His 
" History of Virginia," for the Com- 
monwealth Series, is one of the 
most delightful volumes of that en- 
tire series, and is itself as wonder- 
ful as a romance. Just a short 
time before his death he said : " Mr. 
Howells and the other realists have 
crowded me out of the popular re- 
gard as a novelist, and have brought 
the kind of fiction I write into gen- 
eral disfavor. I do not complain of 
that, for they are right. They see, 
as I do, that fiction should faithful- 
ly reflect life, and they obey the 
law, while I was born too soon, and 
am now too old to learn my trade 
anew ; but in literature, as in every- 
thing else, advance should be the 
law, and he who stands still has no 
right to complain if he is left be- 
267 



John Bsten coo^e^ 

hind. Besides, the fires of ambition 
are burned out of me, and I am se- 
renely happy. My wheat-fields are 
green as I look out from the porch 
of the ' Briars,' the corn rustles in 
the vv^ind, and the great trees give 
me shade upon the lawn. My three 
children are growing up in such 
nurture and admonition as their 
race has always deemed fit, and I 
am not only content but very happy, 
and much too lazy to entertain any 
other feeling toward my victors 
than one of warm friendship and 
sincere approval." Notwithstand- 
ing this admission against himself, 
the sale of his books, particularly 
his war stories, continues, and is 
likely to continue until the deeds 
they portray have faded much far- 
ther into the dim distance. Cooke 
did not altogether neglect poetry, 
though one poem by his brother 
outshines all that he wrote. 

Even while happy at the 
" Briars " amid his pleasant sur- 
268 



^obn iBstcn Coofte* 

roundings and with his wife, whom 
he found so like an angel, we can not 
but imagine him sometimes heaving 
a sigh and dropping a tear for his 
fallen comrades, particularly for the 
gallant Stuart, whose plumes he had 
so often seen waving in the desper- 
ate charge. No more fitting close 
can be made than to give a portion 
of Capt. Cooke's 

BEREA VED. 
Dear comrades, dead this many a day, 

I saw you weltering in your gore, 
After three days amid the pines 

On the Rappahannock shore, 
When the joy of life was much to me, 

But your warm hearts were more. 

You lived and died true to your flag, 
And now your wounds are healed, but 
sore 
Are many hearts that think of you 

Where you have gone before. 
Peace, comrade! God bound up those 
forms! 
They are whole forevermore! 

Those lips this broken vessel touched ; 
His, too, the man we all adore, 



5obn :iS3ten Goolie* 

That cavalier of cavaliers, 

Whose voice will ring no more, 

"Whose plume vi^ill float amid the storm^ 
Of battle nevermore ! 



Never was cavalier like ours, 
Not Rupert in the years before! 

And when his stern, hard work was 
done, 
His griefs, joys, battles o'er, 

His mighty spirit rode the storm 
And led his men once more. 

He lies beneath his native sod, 

Where violets spring or frost is hoar; 
He recks not; charging squadrons watch 

His raven plume no more, 
That smile we'll see, that voice we'll 
hear, 
That hand we'll touch no more! 
270 



©tber Soutbern 1Ro\^eU0t0* 

THE romance of history per- 
tains to no human annals more 
strikingly than to the early 
settlement of Virginia. - The mind 
of the reader at once reverts to the 
names of Raleigh, Smith, and Po- 
cahontas. The traveler's memory 
pictures in a moment the ivy-man- 
tled ruin of old Jamestow^n." Thus 
vsrrote Dr. William A. Caruth- 
ERS, in the year 1834, at the head 
of the first chapter of the " Cava- 
liers of Virginia." Dr. Caruthers 
w^as born in Virginia about the be- 
ginning of the century, and died at 
Savannah, Ga., where he had fol- 
lowed his profession for some years. 
He was a student of Washington 
College, Virginia, ini8i8, and after- 
ward was educated as a physician. 
The record of his works runs as 
follows : The " Cavaliers of Vir- 
ginia" (1834), the "Knights of 
the Horseshoe" (1845), the " Ken- 
4 271 



©tber Soutbern movelists* 



tuckian in New York," and a " Life 
of Dr. Caldwell." He wrote for 
the Knickerbocker^ of New York, 
and for the Magnolia and other 
Southern magazines. 

The " Cavaliers of Virginia " is 
a spirited historical romance, the 
scene of which is laid at Jamestown, 
in the days of Gov. Berkeley, and 
one of the chief actors is the brave, 
and — the world now says — patriotic 
Nathaniel Bacon. We have here 
brought to view pictures of cavalier 
and lady, savage and wilderness, 
with loves, hates, and jealousies, 
showing that the people who found- 
ed a great commonwealth were hu- 
man. At the close of the work 
we find the following "Addenda : " 
*' Should the author's humble labors 
continue to amuse his countrymen, 
he w^ill very soon lay before them 
the * Tramontane Order ; or. The 
Knights of the Golden Horseshoe,' 
an order of knighthood in the Old 
Dominion which first planted the 
British standard beyond the Blue 
272 



®tber Soutbecn IRovelfsts^ 



Mountains." As we have seen, it 
was more than ten years before he 
fulfilled the promise of the "Adden- 
da." Perhaps his work did not 
" amuse his countrymen " of Vir- 
ginia, as he seems to have left the 
state, first for Alabama, afterward 
settling in Georgia. In course of 
time came the " Knights," and we 
could not very well spare the 
" Cocked Hat Gentry," since much 
of the story is history in which the 
real names of the actors are given. 
Spotswood and his followers found 
it necessary to shoe their horses for 
the first time after leaving the soft 
soil of the tide-water region. This 
became the emblem of knighthood 
on their return. To the peerless 
riders who with him had laid open 
the fair valley of Virginia Gov. 
Spotswood presented ornaments of 
gold wrought, into the shape of 
horseshoes. The inscription on one 
side was, " Tramontane Order ;" on 
the other, '•^Sic juvat transcendere 
mo7ites^'' The literary instinct was 
273 



©tber Soutbern IRovcUsts. 



strong in Dr. Caruthers. Although 
his house and books were burned^ 
he continued to gather material, and 
brought out his works at a time when 
his people were not clamoring very 
loudly for an output of literature. 

Nathaniel Beverly Tucker 
is said to have excelled any of his 
Virginia contemporaries as a writer. 
His novel, the " Partizan Leader," 
made quite a sensation. It was 
first published in 1836, but was sup- 
pressed for political reasons. The 
work was privately printed with a 
date twenty years in advance of the 
time of publication, and tells by an- 
ticipation almost exactly what took 
place a little more than twenty years 
later. The story opens when the 
South and North have separated, 
and gives pictures of Virginia occu- 
pied by troops, as happened during 
the war between the states. The 
book w^as printed in New York in 
1 86 1 by those hostile to the South 
to prove that secession had been 
prearranged for a quarter of a cen- 
274 



©tbet Soutbern ttovclists* 



tury. The reprint was called a 
" Key to the Disunion Conspiracy." 
Beverly Tucker, as he was usually 
called, was the author of one other 
novel, " George Balcombe," besides 
essays and various la^v publications. 
He was born in 1784, and died in 
1 85 1. He v/as educated at William 
and Mary, and practised law in Mis- 
souri, where for a time he was 
judge of the circuit court. Re- 
turning to Virginia, he was elected 
Professor of Law in William and 
Mary in 1834, and held the place 
until his death. Nathaniel Beverly 
was the second son of St. George 
Tucker, and half - brother of John 
Randolph. His father had written 
one notable poem, as we have seen 
elsewhere, besides dramas, satirical 
odes, essays on slavery, and various 
works on law. 

Since a large number of the 
Tuckers have been literary men as 
well as jurists, it will simplify the 
matter to say : St. George, the fa- 
ther of Nathaniel Beverly, was born 
275 



©tber Soutbetn IRoveUsts. 



in Bermuda Island in 1852, came ta 
Virginia to receive his education, 
and finally settled there, bearing 
arms in defense of the colonies in 
1777. The following year he was 
married to Frances Bland, the moth- 
er of John Randolph. George 
Tucker, jurist, essayist, and novel- 
ist, was a relative, and was edu- 
cated by St. George. He was the 
author of numerous works, inclu- 
ding a novel, the " Valley of the 
Shenandoah," which was reprinted 
in England, and translated into Ger- 
man. Henry St. George, the 
elder brother of Nathaniel Beverly, 
was a jurist, author of various law 
publications, judge, and member of 
Congress. The third son of Hen- 
ry St. George, St. George, Jr., 
died from exposure in the seven 
days' battles around Richmond. 
He was the author of "Hansford, 
a Tale of Bacon's Rebellion," pub- 
lished at Richmond before the war. 
One writer for youth should not 
be omitted from this collection,. 
276 



©tber Soutbecn IWovelista. 



though his works are so well known 
that an extended notice is unneces- 
sary. Francis Robert Gould- 
iNG was a native of Georgia, and 
was born September 28, 18 10, in 
Liberty County, near Midway. He 
died August 21, 1881, and is bur- 
ied at Roswell, Ga. Dr. Goulding 
graduated in the University of Geor- 
gia, at Athens, in 1830, and finished 
the course in the Presbyterian The- 
ological Seminary at Columbia, 
S. C, in 1833. The failure of his 
voice debarred him from preaching, 
and he became a writer of books, 
being surprised at his own success. 
A desire to instruct and amuse his 
own children caused him to com- 
mence the " Young Marooners " in 
1847. The work was not com- 
pleted until 1850, and was two more 
years in finding a publisher. It 
was declined in New York and 
neglected for a time in Philadelphia, 
until on one occasion the one who 
passes upon the manuscript in such 
cases chanced to make a casual ex- 
277 



©tbct Soutbern 1Roveli5t0. 



amination of the " Young Maroon- 
ers," as the work was called, after 
having been named two or three 
times. The passing glance of the 
manuscript - reader deepened into 
intense interest, and the work was 
brought out at once. Three edi- 
tions were issued the first year, and 
it was soon reprinted in England 
and Scotland by at least half a doz- 
en houses. Some one called it a 
** Crusoic book for boys, and the 
best of its class." Be it boy or 
man who begins the story, he is 
likely to finish, and then procure 
" Marooner's Island," a sequel, pub- 
lished in 1868. These works have 
been a source of pleasure and profit 
to thousands of young people in 
both America and England. Dr. 
Goulding's other works are : " Lit- 
tle Josephine " (1848), "Confeder- 
ate Soldier's Hymn-Book " (1863), 
"Little Boy" (1869), and the 
" V/oodruff Stories " ( 1870). 

If we take popularity as the cri- 
terion of merit, the women of the 
278 



©tber Soutbern floveUsts* 



South have not been second to the 
men as novelists, though how much 
literature has been produced poster- 
ity must determine. It is said that 
ninety-three thousand volumes of 
Mrs. Caroline Lee Hentz's sto- 
ries were sold in three years. Her 
nativity was Massachusetts, but she 
resided several years at Chapel 
Hill, N. C, where her husband 
^vas professor in the college. They 
lived in various Southern States, 
chiefly Alabama, Florida, and Geor- 
gia, and were engaged in teaching. 
Her work was done in the South, 
and her sympathies were ever South- 
ern. Perhaps the best known of 
her publications were the " Mob 
Cap" and "Aunt Patty's Scrap 
Bag." Some of her other works 
were " Marcus Warland " and the 
" Planter's Northern Bride." Her 
view of the condition of the slave 
w^as very diverse to that expressed 
in " Uncle Tom's Cabin." 

A remarkable case of sowing in 
lears and reaping in gladness is 
279 



©tbcr Soutbcrn MovcliBts* 



shown in the account given by Mrs^ 
E. D. E. N. SouTHWORTH of how- 
she wrote " Retribution " while in 
charge of a school difficult to man- 
age, and with her child at the door 
of death. Beginning with this in 
1 849, a long train of sensational sto- 
ries followed in rapid succession. 

As various publications have con- 
tinued to come from the pen of 
" Marion Harland " in recent years, 
one can hardly realize that her first 
work, "Alone," came from the press 
in 1854. This for a time required 
a new American edition every few 
weeks, was reprinted in England^ 
and translated into French. As 
"Hidden Path," "Moss Side," 
" Nemesis," " Miriam," "At Last," 
" Helen Gardner," and many oth- 
ers, came from a busy pen, hardly 
one reached a sale of less than ten 
thousand w^ithin a year after publi- 
cation. Mrs. Mary Virginia 
Terhune ("Marion Harland") is 
the daughter of Samuel P. Hawes, 
who was a merchant of Richmondj 
280 



©tber Soutbern 'Uovcliste* 



Va. In 1856 she was married to 
Rev. E. P. Terhune, who was then 
a Virginia pastor, but afterward 
took work in New Jersey. 

Possibly no American writer of 
fiction has had so many readers as 
Mrs. Augusta Jane Evans Wil- 
son. Although yet living, she has 
not published anything for some 
years. She has not been a prolific 
writer, but her works have had 
large sales. Mrs. Wilson was born 
at Columbus, Ga., May 8, 1835. On 
her mother's side she was descended 
from the Howards, one of the most 
honorable families of the state. 

Her mother was to a large ex- 
tent her teacher. When she was 
scarcely ten years of age her fa- 
ther moved to San Antonio, Tex. 
The Alamo and its gloomy story 
made a deep impression upon the 
tender child, hence " Inez, a Tale 
of the Alamo," was written when 
the author was fifteen. The Har- 
pers published this story in 1855. 
Four years later her " Beulah " ap- 
281 



Otbct Sout&ern 1Rovelf5t6« 



j^eared. This has been said to be 
her own life story. However that 
may be, "Beulah" ran through 
many editions in a few months. 
Jaines Wood Davidson says: "The 
author of ' Beulah ' was styled the 
Charlotte Bronte of America. The 
compliment had some meaning in 
it." " Macaria " was published at 
Richmond in 1863, and was, per- 
haps, the first Southern war novel 
of the late war. Of course the sub- 
ject and the times would have made 
it popular, had the writer not al- 
ready reached her triumph. " St. 
Elmo," the much praised and much 
read, but also much censured, ap- 
peared in 1866. The little heroine 
knew so much, the hero was so 
strange, the language was so " high- 
flown!" Nevertheless, the book 
brought the author large returns. 
Her succeeding works are : " Vash- 
ti," " Inf elice," and "At the Mercy 
of Tiberius." " Beulah " Evans, as 
she was sometimes called, was mar- 
ried to Mr. L. M. Wilson, of Mo- 
282 



©tber Soutbern IRoveliste* 



bile, Ala., in 1868. She resided, 
near that city, in a beautiful home 
bought with the sales of her books, 
until the death of her husband, when 
she took up her residence in Mobile. 
While much of the writings of 
ante-bellum times is considered by 
the reader of to-day a dreary waste 
of uninteresting pages, one must 
not imagine that these pages do not 
contain here and there wide patches 
of the bluest skies, the glintings of 
the mountain stream, the dewy fra- 
grance of sun-kissed flowers, and 
the ecstatic songs of Southern birds, 
as well as the genial life of a people 
of a now half - remembered past. 
Many of the works mentioned in 
the preceding pages have no inter-, 
est except as way-marks to show 
b^ what stages of effort our people 
have reached their present status in 
literature. Some will have interest 
only to the historian and to the stu- 
dent who keep track of the social 
conditions of a people in their va- 
rious stages of progress. Others 
283 



Otbcx Soutbern Bovelists. 



will command a measure of interest 
as long as the world cares for 
dauntless deeds of high emprise, 
and for men of sincere convictions 
with noble courage and true chival- 
ry. To the one who reads for pas- 
time or merely to catch the transient 
phases of current life, most of these 
works are not even names. Liter- 
ature has come to be a business, 
and the newer writers have caught 
the artistic form in a higher degree. 
In fact, the art of the seer is often 
in higher repute than his vision and 
message. But we appreciate the 
fact that the successors to these pio- 
neers in the South know how to 
handle the tools of their craft to a 
better advantage both as to the form 
and body of their thought, and that 
they are gathering the golden grains 
of a wider and richer harvest. 

"And slowly answered Arthur from the 
barge : 
'The old order changeth, yielding place 
to new.'" 

284 



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